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Additional Credits

Video

Photographer Statement

I first became interested the conflicts along the Thailand-Myanmar border while I was a university student, volunteering at the Baan Unrak Children’s Village in Sangkhlaburi, Thailand. I taught an English class to both a group of mothers and a group of teenage boys from Myanmar. They lived and studied at the orphanage, in exchange for doing cooking and maintenance work.
Many years later as a professional photographer I returned to Thailand and this time volunteered at the Ban Nai Soi Community Centre, a school and home for youth refugees from Myanmar. In addition to teaching, I was able to travel home with many of the students, visiting their families in neighbouring communities and camps in rural areas of Northern Thailand. I then independently travelled along the Thai-Myanmar border visiting villages, schools, hospitals and orphanages.

I can't speak for any individual or claim to have a comprehensive understanding of their life exeriences but for me it was inspirational to repeatedly meet people living their lives with hope and joy, despite their difficult situations.

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Two members of Royal Thai Army follow a public bus in Northern Thailand. Official refugees from Myanmar are not permitted to leave their camps, while other migrant workers and those without official status are not permitted to leave their villages. The Thai military frequently pull over public buses and set up check-points.

Fleeing their government’s widespread use of forced labor, forced military service, arbitrary detention, torture and killing, groups of people from Myanmar are left both internally displaced and in neighbouring Thailand.

The nine official UNHCR refugee camps in Thailand are home to roughly 92,000 registered refugees from Myanmar. An estimated 54,000 additional unregistered asylum seekers live both in the camps and in surrounding villages.

The refugee camps began opening in the 1980s, making the refugee situation in Thailand one of the longest running of it's kind in the world. Most official refugees are not warranted to leave their camps, while others are permitted little or no mobility from their villages. Despite their difficult situation, thousands of displaced individuals from Myanmar quietly prevail, resolutely going about their daily lives.

Fleeing their government’s widespread use of forced labor, forced military service, arbitrary detention, torture and killing, groups of people from Myanmar are left both internally displaced and in neighbouring Thailand.

The nine official UNHCR refugee camps in Thailand are home to roughly 92,000 registered refugees from Myanmar. An estimated 54,000 additional unregistered asylum seekers live both in the camps and in surrounding villages.

The refugee camps began opening in the 1980s, making the refugee situation in Thailand one of the longest running of it's kind in the world. Most official refugees are not warranted to leave their camps, while others are permitted little or no mobility from their villages. Despite their difficult situation, thousands of displaced individuals from Myanmar quietly prevail, resolutely going about their daily lives.

I first became interested the conflicts along the Thailand-Myanmar border while I was a university student, volunteering at the Baan Unrak Children’s Village in Sangkhlaburi, Thailand. I taught an English class to both a group of mothers and a group of teenage boys from Myanmar. They lived and studied at the orphanage, in exchange for doing cooking and maintenance work.
Many years later as a professional photographer I returned to Thailand and this time volunteered at the Ban Nai Soi Community Centre, a school and home for youth refugees from Myanmar. In addition to teaching, I was able to travel home with many of the students, visiting their families in neighbouring communities and camps in rural areas of Northern Thailand. I then independently travelled along the Thai-Myanmar border visiting villages, schools, hospitals and orphanages.

I can't speak for any individual or claim to have a comprehensive understanding of their life exeriences but for me it was inspirational to repeatedly meet people living their lives with hope and joy, despite their difficult situations.

Two members of Royal Thai Army follow a public bus in Northern Thailand. Official refugees from Myanmar are not permitted to leave their camps, while other migrant workers and those without official status are not permitted to leave their villages. The Thai military frequently pull over public buses and set up check-points.

The Ban Nai Soi Community Learning Center was founded just outside a Karenni refugee camp in Mae Hong Son, Thailand by Karenni refugee Kyaw Hla Sein. The centre provides a high school level education to refugee youth from Myanmar. Two teenage boys relax inside their bedroom at the school.

Ooray, a Karenni teacher at Ban Nai Soi Community Learning Center keeps his UNHCR official refugee status documentation with him when he comes to work at the school. He and his family received the documentation when he entered Thailand from Myanmar as a child.

The Mae Tao Clinic in Mae Sot, Thailand provides health care services for displaced people along the Thai-Myanmar border. The clinic was founded by Dr Cynthia Maung, a Karen woman who fled Myanmar with her family in 1988.

The Mae Tao Clinic in Mae Sot, Thailand provides health care services for displaced people along the Thai-Myanmar border. The clinic was founded by Dr Cynthia Maung, a Karen woman who fled Myanmar with her family in 1988.

Women wait to see a doctor in the Reproductive Health Department at the Mae Tao Clinic in Mae Sot, Thailand. The clinic provides health care services for displaced people along the Thai-Myanmar border. The centre was founded by Dr Cynthia Maung, a Karen woman who fled Myanmar with her family in 1988.

Prosthetics Department staff members work on a new limbs for patients of the Prosthetics, Landmines and Rehabilitation department at the Mae Tao Clinic in Mae Sot, Thailand. With land mines regularly being used along the Thai-Myanmar border, over 200 new and replacement limbs are produced annually by the Mae Tao Clinic. The centre was founded by Dr Cynthia Maung, a Karen woman who fled Myanmar with her family in 1988.

A patient is fitted for a prosthetic leg at the Mae Tao Clinic's Prosthetics, Landmines and Rehabilitation department in Mae Sot, Thailand. With land mines regularly being used along the Thai-Myanmar border, over 200 new and replacement limbs are produced annually by the Mae Tao Clinic. The centre was founded by Dr Cynthia Maung, a Karen woman who fled Myanmar with her family in 1988.

The slums in Mae Sot, Thailand are home to hundreds of both legal and illegal migrant workers from Myanmar. The city is located 5km from Myanmar and is easily accessed via the Peace Bridge. The Burmese Migrant Workers’ Education Committee works to setup small schools for the children of migrant workers. Often the children go to school in the evening as they work in factories and collecting rubbish in the daytime.

Young students take night classes in Mae Sot, Thailand. The slums in Mae Sot are home to hundreds of both legal and illegal migrant workers from Myanmar. The city is located 5km from Myanmar and is easily accessed via the Peace Bridge. The Burmese Migrant Workers’ Education Committee works to setup small schools for the children of migrant workers. Often the children go to school in the evening as they work in factories and collecting rubbish in the daytime.

A young student takes a break from his night classes in Mae Sot, Thailand. The slums in Mae Sot are home to hundreds of both legal and illegal migrant workers from Myanmar. The city is located 5km from Myanmar and is easily accessed via the Peace Bridge. The Burmese Migrant Workers’ Education Committee works to setup small schools for the children of migrant workers. Often the children go to school in the evening as they work in factories and collecting rubbish in the daytime.

A young girl rides the bus home after her night classes in Mae Sot, Thailand. The slums in Mae Sot are home to hundreds of both legal and illegal migrant workers from Myanmar. The city is located 5km from Myanmar and is easily accessed via the Peace Bridge. The Burmese Migrant Workers’ Education Committee works to setup small schools for the children of migrant workers. Often the children go to school in the evening as they work in factories and collecting rubbish in the daytime.

A group of young men from the Nai Soi Community Learning Center share a late night snack after a long day. Founded just outside a Karenni refugee camp in Mae Hong Son, Thailand by Karenni refugee Kyaw Hla Sein. The centre was founded just outside a Karenni refugee camp in Mae Hong Son, Thailand by Karenni refugee Kyaw Hla Sein. It provides a high school level education to refugee children from Myanmar.

Baan Unrak Children's Village in Sangklaburi, Thailand is home to over 130 children. The orphanage provides a home, education and healthcare for children. When possible, mothers are encouraged to stay with their children and work at the orphanage.